Vigor of Twelve is a play off of the fact that Jesus had twelve disciples. It is a name that helps stress an importance on discipleship. This blog is specifically geared for younger people and mature Christians who don't mind a fresh, bold, and blunt approach to faith. Comments welcome, let's begin the discussion!

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Sunday, April 15, 2012

Acts 11:27-30

There
were a few prophets who come to Antioch having come from Jerusalem. One of these prophets was a man named Agabus,
who comes into the fellowship of the Christians and proclaims that there will
be a famine in Jerusalem (which does happen while Claudius is emperor of
Rome). The Christians in Antioch decide
that they need to prepare to do something about this. So they began to prepare a “love offering”
and send it with Barnabas and Saul.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Prophets. Prophets are not people who can tell the
future, prophets are people of God who speak the word of God to their
contemporaries. The prophets can read
the signs. Historically speaking,
Jerusalem is getting far more rebellious at this time. It makes sense that if Jerusalem grows in
rebellion that they will receive less supplies and aid from the
government. The prophets can read the
warning signs and begin to speak out about the “danger that lay upon the path
that the people are treading.” It is not
so much that the prophets are speaking the future as much as they are warning
the people of the potential consequences that the future may hold. These prophets are not future-tellers and
much as they are consequence-tellers.

How
does this understanding help us to learn to value the true “prophets” that are
in our midst?

Second Thought:

The
Christians in Antioch listen. Then they
plan. Then they put the plan into
action. It’s plain and simple,
really. Discern, think, plan, act. Follow God’s leading. Respond to the situations that God places in
your path. It’s not really that complex.

Why
do we tend to make following God more complex than it should be?

Third Thought:

The
Christians in Antioch give of themselves.
They sacrifice of themselves for the benefit of people that they have
never met. It really is a beautiful
thing to read about – even though it seems to get such little attention.